It’s a year to celebrate for fans of Ghostbusters (and less so for ghosts…) with its 35th anniversary, a new movie from the son of the original director on the way and, coming soon from Hero Collector: A new build-up model of the iconic Ectomobile…
As revealed at the weekend’s Ghostbusters Fan Fest in California, this officially licensed model is a perfect 1:8-scale die-cast replica of one of the most instantly recognizable vehicles in motion picture history – the ECTO-1 as featured in the original Ghostbusters movie. And here’s the star, Dan Aykroyd’s recation to seeing the completed model…
Of the ECTO-1, Aykroyd says “The conceit in the movie was it was a hearse converted to an ambulance, but in real life it was an ambulance that we converted to a hearse and then converted to an ambulance! The hearse just has a pallet to put the coffin in the back, but the ambulance has things like stretcher bars. And inside, next to the side door where we put our packs, there was a little seat where patients could be attended to. There’s no way a hearse would have a seat there for anyone to attend to a passenger!”
“That car is a wallower. It’s got beautiful power steering but it’s wide and handles like a boat. It’s got a really good, big motor in it, it’s comfortable to sit in… It’s a little difficult to drive around corners because of its width and bars underneath but then a Cadillac of that vintage isn’t going to handle like a Porsche. There was one with a normal motor for pulling away and interior shots, and another one with a fast motor for getting away quickly. And, boy, it was fast. It was fun to drive it in New York with all its pot holes!”
“As we drove by in New York, people didn’t know what it was. It produced such a great reaction wherever it went!”
The new model is based on a careful study of the actual 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance used in the 1984 supernatural comedy, every possible detail of the ECTO-1 has been carefully reproduced in 1:8 scale. The doors, hood and windows all open, the headlights, tail lights, brake lights, and emergency lights all work, the siren sounds, and the steering wheel turns the front wheels.
The completed model is over 80cm long, close to 25cm wide and showcases the custom modifications made by Dr Ray Stantz himself, including:
- Ghostbusting Roof Rack with intricately reproduced and poseable P.K.E.-detection tools
- Rotating Lights that illuminate and spin
- Opening Hood that reveals the highly detailed replica Cadillac V8 engine
- Working Headlights and Tail Lights operated from the dashboard
- Tires and Hubcaps with screen accurate Cadillac and Remington branding
- 5 Opening Doors that allow access to the authentically detailed interior
The parts that make up this incredible model come with a fully illustrated magazine featuring behind-the-scenes features on the Ghostbusters series of movies. (Issue 1 cover, below.)
Build the Ghostbusters Ectomobile launches this autumn but fans can already register their interest, below.